The S-70 drones are possibly becoming Russia’s own attack drone that would work alongside manned fighters.
Yesterday, Saturday, a special event was seen in the sky of eastern Ukraine. Near Chasiv Yar, two aircraft flew close to each other. At one point, an interceptor missile was apparently fired from the latter ship, which brought down the ship flying ahead.
The case can be seen, for example, in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation From the video published by NRK.
After the Ukrainians came to look at the wreckage, it appeared that it was probably an S-70 Ohotnik-b (Hunter) belonging to Russia’s most modern combat aircraft.
The S-70 is one of the most advanced types of drones in Russia, but it is not yet in mass production, the devices have been built Forbes magazine according to “a handful”.
On the Chasiv Yar flight, the S-70 was possibly on a reconnaissance mission. According to experts, Ukraine’s electronic defense is very strong. It is possible that the pilots of the device realized that it was no longer under control and would have ended up in Ukraine.
It was decided to destroy the S-70 by shooting it with an air-to-air missile. This was done, but the drone was not completely destroyed, but significant parts of the more than 20-meter drone have been taken over by the Ukrainians.
In terms of Ukraine’s own drone production, the S-70 is extremely interesting. It is reportedly also designed for independent attack missions and to act as a “loyal wingman” with the manned Sukhoi Su-57 fighter, says a military publication Defense blog.
It is possible that the drone was shot down by the Su-57, with which the cooperation was practiced.
The Su-57 is Russia’s long-term and unfortunate development effort to develop a top fighter invisible to radar. The project has encountered many delays, and the Su-57 has not yet visited the Ukrainian front. Tells about the development project WarZone publication.
Experts also consider it possible that the drone was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet.